Multipurpose furniture



Sept. 4, 1951 D. BABIT 66,8 8

MULTIPURPOSE FURNITURE Filed Feb. 10, 1950 2 Shets-Sheet 1 M 11W). m anm m W "W" minim 20 26a 3/0 f, /oaz 5' 3 :;T.

INVENTOR.

DAV/D BAB/T W AGENT Patented Sept. 4, 1951 NITED 'FS TATE S :PATEN T OFil-CE MULTIPURPOSE FURNITURE .nmdnsbn, New York, N. Y.

Application February .10, 1950, Serial No. 143,577

"stools, to form another useful article of furniture, such as a hassock.

Another object of this invention is to provide pieces of furniture ofthe character set forth which may be conveniently stacked and may haveutility even in stacked condition.

'-A further object of my invention is to provide *1 pieces offurnitureof this character which may be combined with similar or relatedpieces to form a chair, stool or the like of altered propont-ions.

Theabove and 'otherobiects of the invention will become apparent fromthe following 'description of certain embodiments, reference being hadto the accompanying drawing in which: Fig. '1 is a section, on the linel-I of Fig. 3,

of a plurality of stacked stools in accordance with the invention;

"Fig. .2 is a top :plan view of .a stool as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of a stool .as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with thelegs thereof in retracted position;

Fig. 4-shows several stools of the configuration illustrated in thepreceding figures, stacked together to form a hassoclr;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 6,showing a plurality of stacked chairs according to the invention;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a single chair as shown in Fig. 5,illustrated in fully open position;

Fig. 7 is a bottom view, similar to Fig. 3, of one of the chairs shownin Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing several chairs according toFigs. 5-7 stacked together to form a hassock.

Referring first to Figs. 14, there are shown a plurality of stools Illa,I01), I and Hid stacked on top of one another to form a hassock I!)(Fig. 4). Each stool comprises a seat Ha, Hb, etc., provided on itsunderside with a recess [2a, I21), etc. for the purpose of enablingwithdrawal of legs such as 13a, Ma, Ia, l6a which are pivoted to theseat Ila at Ila, l8a, [9a and a, respectively. The legs I3a, Hz: and Ma,Ifia are connected together in pairs by cross bars "-7 Claims. (Cl.'155-Z 2m, 22a, respectively, and are adapted to be braced in extendedposition, as shown for the unit lllb inFig. l, by means of links 23a,24a, 15a and 26a; links 24a and 26a are pivoted to the legs 14a andlfia, respectively, and to the seat Ha, whereas links 2311 and 25a arepivoted to the legs 13a and 15a, respectively, "andtoa block Ziadepending from the seat Ila. "Theseat Ha carries a pad 28a lodged inadepressionlfiu.

Each stool un i't, such as Ida, is provided with .a peripheral ledgesuch as 38a adapted to mate with a corresponding peripheral ridge formedon the underside of an identical stool,.such.:as the ridge 3l6 of stool10b. Fig. 1 clearly shows how ridge 31a of unit 16a engages-ledge 30bofrunit .tllb, thereby firmly joining the two units together againstrelative lateialdisplacement. .It will thus be understood that a user:may sit on, say, the unit we aftereatending its legs as shown :inEig.1,01, if a greater height be desired (as, Pior example, in the case of apianostool designed 'ifor small children), on the upper unit lilo of theassembly shown in'Fig. '1, or yet on the :top' unit of the stack such asshown in Fig.4.:in which the legsof alltheunitsare retracted. Also, thestack 1 B of Fig. 4 maybe used as a foot rest, a makeshift table -or the1ike,-'in "addition to its repre-' senting a hassook of selectivelyadjustable height.

In Figs. 5-8 the same numeralshave been :used as in the precedingfigures, prefixed, iihowever, with the digit 1 in the hundreds position.Thus the stack H9 (Fig.8) represents aihassockcomposed of four unitsllfla, H01), H00 and HM. In oontradistinct'ion to :the embodimentdescribed above, these units represent chairs each provided, in additionto seats such as Illa and legs such as I |3al Ilia, with a back such as132a, [32b etc. Back 132a is swingably hinged to the seat I I la atl33a, |34a and is provided with outward braces l35a, Him to maintain it,if desired, in the open position shown in Fig. 5; back I 32a is providedwith lateral recesses l31a, l38a to accommodate the braces a, l38a,respectively, so as to prevent them from projecting beyond the outlineof the back; co-extensive recesses or cutouts such as lsfia (Fig. 8) areprovided in the seat Illa to receive the lower portions of these braceswhen the latter are in doubled-up position, with the back |32a foldedover horizontally as shown in Fig. 8. The back [32a is further providedwith a front and a rear cushion I40a, l4 la, respectively, lodged in itssuitably recessed faces. The entire member 13211 is of such shape as tofit snugly into the bottom recess, such as I I'll), of any other unit oflike configuration.

When two or more units such as IIOa, I ID!) are assembled as shown inFig. 5, the backs of all but the uppermost unit are folded over as shownfor the back I321) in this figure, being snugly engaged by the bottomrecess of the next higher unit; the front cushion I40b of unit IIOb thencomes to rest against the seat pad I28b thereof, so that both of theseelements will be flattened, as shown. When it is desired to obtain astack or has'sock such as IIO, the back I32a of the uppermost unit IIOais likewise folded over as shown in Fig. 8.

By way of example, the legs II3c--II6a are shownpivoted to the seat IIIaat II'Ia-I20a,,respectively, the pivots II'Ia, 9a being in a lower planeand the pivots I IBa, I20a in an upper plane, the pairs of legsinterconnected by cross bars I2 Ia and I22a being equidistant in thiscase.

It may be mentioned, and will be plain from the foregoing description,that chairs such as IIOa-I Id maybe used interchangeably or incombination withstools of the general character illustrated in Figs.1-4, as by replacing the top unitI I0a of stack I ID with a stoolsimilar to unit I0a but of square configuration. It will also be seenthat Fig. 6 represents a chair of ordinary height and Fig. a chair ofextra height, formed by superimposing the two units IIOa, H01), and thatstill greater height may be obtained by adding still another unit suchas I I0c. Furthermore, by raising the back I32a of the stack I I0 intothe position shown in Fig. 5, there will be formed a piece of furnitureadjustable in height and adapted to serve as a reclining seat.

.It should be understood that the invention is not limited to thespecific arrangements shown and described, which have been given merelyby way of illustrating a stack, representing a hassock or other piece offurniture,rcomposed of a plurality of units (e. g. I0a, "011) eachhaving a topside" and an underside of complementary or partlycomplementary configuration (as at 3Ia, 305 or I I2a, I321?) thereby.preventing substantial lateral displacement of any unit relative to allother units forming part of the stack. The invention, accordingly, iscapable of numerous modifications and adaptations without exceeding itsscope as defined in the objectsand in the appended claims.

. I claim:

seating devices, each of said seating devices being provided at itsunderside with a recess and with a set of legs attached thereto at saidunderside,

1. A hassock composed of a plurality of stacked said legs beingretracted into said recess and exvtendable therefrom, each of saidseating devices further having a top provided with a raised portion, thesaid recess of each but the lowest one of said seating devices receivingsaid raised portion of the top of the next lower seating device, therebypreventing substantial relative lateral displacement between saidseating devices.

2. A hassock according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said seatingdevices is a stool having a top provided with a raised portion forming aseating surface, said seating surface entering the recess of the nexthigher seating device.

3. A ,hassock according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said seatingdevices is a chair provided with a seat and a back pivotally connectedwith and folded down upon said seat, said back being movable into araised position, said folded back entering the recess of the next higherseating device. said chair being further provided with bracing meansadapted to hold said back in an upright position when unfolded. I

4. A hassock according to claim 3 wherein said back is provided with arear cushionv forming a seating surface when saidchair is placed on topof the stack and said back is folded.

5. A hassock according to claim 1 wherein all of said seating devicesare identical. 7

6. A seating device comprising a body having a recess at its undersideand having a top provided. with a raised portion, said raised portionbeing substantially coextensive with said recess, thereby fittingclosely into the recess of an iden-- tical seating device, and a set oflegs attachedto said body and fully retractable into said recess.

7. A seating device according to claim 6 wherein said seating device isprovided with a seat and a back pivotally connected with and swingablerelative to said seat, said back when swung down upon said seat formingsaid raised portion, said seating device being further provided withbracing means adapted to hold said back in an up,- right position whenswung away from said seat.

' DAVID BABIT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

